


Sparkle Carrots

by Mool



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-04
Updated: 2016-11-04
Packaged: 2018-08-29 00:07:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 855
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8468254
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mool/pseuds/Mool
Summary: The thought of returning home was like a shadow. A phantom of possibility with no substance, but always there. Something that no one could let go, clinging desperately to the bottom of their beings.But eventually, it was bound to happen. Whether they were to return to their spectral place as stardust or trying to fit into the empty spaces they left behind, home, was bound to happen.





	

**Author's Note:**

> some late night sads

The thought of returning home was like a shadow. A phantom of possibility with no substance, but always there. Something that no one could let go, clinging desperately to the bottom of their beings.

But eventually, it was bound to happen. Whether they were to return to their spectral place as stardust or trying to fit into the empty spaces they left behind, home, was bound to happen.

The Galra were no longer a threat. 

The battles seemed endless but like coal mining with a spoon, if you just chisel enough in the right spot, the whole thing will eventually collapse. 

Celebrations were had; the rebuilding of ghost towns, cities, planets, were started. 

At last, everything was stable. 

At last, they could return home.  
  


* * *

 

 

Shiro couldn’t sleep. 

Before, he could use the excuse of adrenaline from battle, the vigilance needed for a future attack, the need for tactical training. 

This time, he could only blame the clutch of anxiety, the echoes of battles from the past, the endless running of his mind from learned strategies never to be executed.

If the hallways in the castle were dirt, the paths of Shiro’s pacing would be well worn in the packed earth. He followed the same path once more towards the kitchen.

Shiro’s attention on his bare feet padding along the smooth floors was averted to the soft casting light from the kitchen. 

Someone was softly humming, a tune trying to take flight in the realms of cheery but wavered along the lines of longing melancholy. 

A frame hulked over the counter, the chop, scrape, of his knife keeping time to his tune. 

Shiro watched in silence as Hunk finished his task of chopping the once foreign vegetable; now a staple in their diet and fondly called a “sparkle carrot.” The deep purple of the root was a beautiful contrast to the the glistening meat of the innards, which were the causation of the vegetable’s nickname.

Hunk picked up a chunk from the cutting board, rolling it between his index finger and thumb. The vegetable glittered like the rock candy that cut the insides of Shiro’s mouth when he used to gnaw on as a kid. 

The wave of nostalgia pulled out a sigh from Shiro.

“I’m going to miss these.” Hunk echoed Shiro’s sigh, his body still turned away from Shiro. He gracefully carried the cutting board to the heating pan on the shiny, pristine stove. The oil in the pan made a satisfying sizzle as each piece came into contact with it. 

“You know, sparkle carrots are absolutely inedible raw, right?” Hunk asked rhetorically as he sent the carrots flying in a glittering, purple arc over the pan with the flick of his wrist. Hunk added spices deftly between each flip, Shiro losing count on the number of variety of flavorings.

“The glitter part is really hard phloem. It’s so hard it’s pretty much crystallized. If you bite into it, say goodbye to your teeth” he explained, setting the pan back down on the burner. “But when you cook it, it softens the cell walls and then you can eat it just fine.” 

Hunk took a step away from the stove, his back facing Shiro as he reached up to get a plate. He set the pure white plate down next to the stove. He picked up the pan as he prepared to plate the steaming carrots.

“But,” he said as he tilted the pan towards the plate,” when you cook a sparkle carrot, the heat breaks down the pigment in the chloroplasts and they turn out like this,” Hunk turned around, holding the plate of one vibrant sparkle carrots. 

The carrots were halfway to mush, even the short cooking time had caused the carrots to lose most of their structure. The once rich aubergine color now a palid, bleached out purple to the point of grey. While it smelled divine, the initial appeal of eating sparkle carrots was gone with the dazzling glitters. 

Hunk sighed again. “Things in space are pretty but they sure get dull fast.”

Shiro nodded slowly, knowing all too well. He picked up a grey, slimy piece and popped it into his mouth. 

“Do you cook often this late?” Shiro asked as he chewed thoughtfully. Regardless of the looks, Hunk’s cooking was always the most satisfying. 

“Yeah, especially now, you know?” Hunk twisted his fingers with the ties of his apron. His eyes slid to the side, “We’re finally going home tomorrow, how crazy is that?” Hunk sat down, also picking up a piece of carrot. 

“Cooking takes me away from all the thinking, all the ‘what if’s’ and ‘what else’s’,” Hunk gestured his hand about, a piece of mush fell on the counter. 

“Plus,” Hunk paused and looked at Shiro straight in the eyes. Shiro never noticed the worn lines on Hunk’s face that mirrored his own. Hunk’s once vibrant eyes showed a dull darkness that only one who has seen too much and could not forget could have. 

They were eyes that Shiro was too familiar with.

“Sometimes, it’s nice to make something instead of destroy, you know?” 

**Author's Note:**

> hello hello!
> 
> Thank you for reading! This is a side project that I'll be dabbling with between fics!  
> I'm planning on working through all the characters but not sure how I'm going to do that... Just some ideas that I was playing with for a while! 
> 
> If you have any other ideas let's chat about sad things together ovo)b
> 
> XOXO,  
> Mool


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